The Sixth Battalion – the Jerusalem Battalion (Hare’l Brigade)
The battalion emerged from Company Eight of the Second Battalion and combined with the Jerusalem Reserve Forces in Jerusalem during December 1947. Initially the battalion comprised of one hundred and twenty men, and thirty women.
Harel Brigade - The Sixth Battalion - 4
Harel Brigade - The Sixth Battalion - 3
Harel Brigade - The Sixth Battalion - 5
Harel Brigade - The Sixth Battalion - 1
Harel Brigade - The Sixth Battalion - 2
The battalion emerged from Company Eight of the Second Battalion and combined with the Jerusalem Reserve Forces in Jerusalem during December 1947. Initially the battalion comprised of one hundred and twenty men, and thirty women.
According to the Palmach headquarters' decision, one of the battalion's platoons settled permanently in Beit Ha'aravaa and moved with the settlement's evacuated men to Sodom; a reduced platoon comprising of twenty men settled in Kfar Etzion and participated in the battle over the village until it fell; and a third, reinforced platoon settled in Kiryat Anavim and in Ma'ale Hahamisha. Its mission was to take control of posts on the east of Sha'ar Hagai road as well as to execute retaliation operations on villages which were used as bases for gangs and attacks against the convoys heading to Jerusalem. The remaining two platoons were Foremen's platoons which escorted convoys.
The battalion's primary mission during the first months of the war, were to protect the convoys heading to Jerusalem. Some of the battalion's companies camped in Sodom from the 11th to the 17th of January 1948.
On the night of the 24th of December 1947, the battalion's forces began an operation against the villages of Beit Sorik, Dir Ayub, and Yalu. On the night of the 16th of January Halamed Hey Company (Company of the 35 fighters who tried to reach Gush- Etzion in January 1948 and fought bravely until their last man) marched towards Gush Etzion. Half of its men were from the Sixth Battalion.
On the 25th of January several convoys were to pass in both directions on the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. When it was discovered that the Arabs were ambushing the convoys between Abu Gush and Qastel, a unit from the Sixth Battalion comprising of 23 fighters under the command of Ya'akov Haisraelit which set out to examine the situation, encountered an Arab gang which called for reinforcement. British forces which arrived exchanged fire with the Arabs and managed to rescue the Palamach force which lost already ten of its men.
Another attack on the Qastel which took place on the 16th of March under the command of Gideon (Joni) Plei failed. On the 27th of March a convoy returning from Kfar Etzion (the Nabi Daniel Convoy) was blocked. After this failure its escorts, most of them from to the Fifth and Sixth Battalions, were annexed to units of the Forth Battalion which was transferred to Kiryat Anavim – Ma'ale Hahamisha zone. On the night of the 2nd of April, thirty five fighters from Beit Ha'arava Company set out to blow two suspended bridges over Wadi Kelt in order to prevent the Arab use of the road. In April the battalion was organized in Pardes Hana. Some men from the Foremen Company were transferred to the Seventh Brigade which invaded the Latrun police's court yard in the frame work of Operation Bin Nun B, which took place on the 30 and 31st of May, but were eventually forced to retreat. Having completed the operation, the men independently left the Seventh Brigade and returned to their battalion in Pardes Hana.
One of the battalion's units participated in the attack on Sodom camp in the south of the Dead Sea on the 20th of May, in the mining of Jerusalem – Jericho road on the 23rd and in the attack on the village A- Zafi and the local police on the 31st.
The battalion participated in the battles over Gush Etzion (in December 1947, from the 12th till the 13th and from the 14th till the 15th of January 1948).
As the first cease fire came to its end, on the 20th of June, the battalion joined with Hare'l Brigade and together took control of the IZL units during their attempt to unload the weapons from the ship Altalena.
In the framework of Operation Dani the battalion conquered Tzuba on the 12th and 13th of July, and of Dir Amar on the 13th and 14th.
The battalion also participated in the attack on Cannon Ridge (during the attack on Latrun) on the 15th and 16th of July, in the attack on the posts in Beit Nuba and Beit Tol on the 17th and 18th, as well as in the attack on the Jordanian Burma Road.
The battalion's commander was Tzvi Jerjevski – Zamir.
According to the Palmach headquarters' decision, one of the battalion's platoons settled permanently in Beit Ha'aravaa and moved with the settlement's evacuated men to Sodom; a reduced platoon comprising of twenty men settled in Kfar Etzion and participated in the battle over the village until it fell; and a third, reinforced platoon settled in Kiryat Anavim and in Ma'ale Hahamisha. Its mission was to take control of posts on the east of Sha'ar Hagai road as well as to execute retaliation operations on villages which were used as bases for gangs and attacks against the convoys heading to Jerusalem. The remaining two platoons were Foremen's platoons which escorted convoys.
The battalion's primary mission during the first months of the war, were to protect the convoys heading to Jerusalem. Some of the battalion's companies camped in Sodom from the 11th to the 17th of January 1948.
On the night of the 24th of December 1947, the battalion's forces began an operation against the villages of Beit Sorik, Dir Ayub, and Yalu. On the night of the 16th of January Halamed Hey Company (Company of the 35 fighters who tried to reach Gush- Etzion in January 1948 and fought bravely until their last man) marched towards Gush Etzion. Half of its men were from the Sixth Battalion.
On the 25th of January several convoys were to pass in both directions on the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. When it was discovered that the Arabs were ambushing the convoys between Abu Gush and Qastel, a unit from the Sixth Battalion comprising of 23 fighters under the command of Ya'akov Haisraelit which set out to examine the situation, encountered an Arab gang which called for reinforcement. British forces which arrived exchanged fire with the Arabs and managed to rescue the Palamach force which lost already ten of its men.
Another attack on the Qastel which took place on the 16th of March under the command of Gideon (Joni) Plei failed. On the 27th of March a convoy returning from Kfar Etzion (the Nabi Daniel Convoy) was blocked. After this failure its escorts, most of them from to the Fifth and Sixth Battalions, were annexed to units of the Forth Battalion which was transferred to Kiryat Anavim – Ma'ale Hahamisha zone. On the night of the 2nd of April, thirty five fighters from Beit Ha'arava Company set out to blow two suspended bridges over Wadi Kelt in order to prevent the Arab use of the road. In April the battalion was organized in Pardes Hana. Some men from the Foremen Company were transferred to the Seventh Brigade which invaded the Latrun police's court yard in the frame work of Operation Bin Nun B, which took place on the 30 and 31st of May, but were eventually forced to retreat. Having completed the operation, the men independently left the Seventh Brigade and returned to their battalion in Pardes Hana.
One of the battalion's units participated in the attack on Sodom camp in the south of the Dead Sea on the 20th of May, in the mining of Jerusalem – Jericho road on the 23rd and in the attack on the village A- Zafi and the local police on the 31st.
The battalion participated in the battles over Gush Etzion (in December 1947, from the 12th till the 13th and from the 14th till the 15th of January 1948).
As the first cease fire came to its end, on the 20th of June, the battalion joined with Hare'l Brigade and together took control of the IZL units during their attempt to unload the weapons from the ship Altalena.
In the framework of Operation Dani the battalion conquered Tzuba on the 12th and 13th of July, and of Dir Amar on the 13th and 14th.
The battalion also participated in the attack on Cannon Ridge (during the attack on Latrun) on the 15th and 16th of July, in the attack on the posts in Beit Nuba and Beit Tol on the 17th and 18th, as well as in the attack on the Jordanian Burma Road.
The battalion's commander was Tzvi Jerjevski – Zamir.